/  7 
./ 
55-4 


CONFERENCE  ON  THE  CONTRIBUTION  OF 
THE  ROMANCE  NATIONS  TO  THE  HISTORY 
OF  AMERICA 


REPORTED   BY 

WILLIAM  R.  SHEPHERD 

CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  CONFERENCE 


Keprinted  from  the  Annual  Keport  of  the  American  Historical  Association 
for  1909,  pages  219-227 


WASHINGTON 
1911 


CONFERENCE  ON  THE  CONTRIBUTION  OF 
THE  ROMANCE  NATIONS  TO  THE  HISTORY 
OF  AMERICA 


REPORTED   BY 

WILLIAM  R.  SHEPHERD 

CHAIRMAN  OP  THE  CONFERENCE 


Keprinted  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the  American  Historical  Association 
for  1909,  pages  219-227 


WASHINGTON 
1911 


XIV,  CONFERENCE  ON  THE  CONTRIBUTION  OF  THE  ROMANCE 
NATIONS  TO  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA, 


REPORTED    BY 

WILLIAM  R.  SHEPHERD, 

Professor  in  Columbia  University,  Chairman  of  the  Conference. 


219 


REPORT  OF  THE  CONFERENCE  ON  THE  CONTRIBUTION  OF  THE  ROMANCE 
NATIONS  TO  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


By  WILIAM  R.  SHEPHERD. 


Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  invitations  to  address  the  conference 
could  not  be  sent  out  in  time,  it  was  agreed  that  the  several  speakers 
should  express  informally  their  views  on  the  topics  communicated  to 
their  charge.  With  the  exception  of  Mr.  Yanes,  whose  admirable 
sketch  of  the  relation  of  the  Eepublics  of  Latin  America  to  the  gen 
eral  subject  has  been  printed  elsewhere,1  the  chief  participants  in  the 
conference  based  their  remarks  on  brief  notes.  Since  the  summary 
that  follows  is  derived  from  abstracts  and  from  press  accounts  of 
these  remarks,  it  necessarily  does  scant  justice  to  the  presentation 
of  the  four  themes  discussed.  The  results  that  it  embodies,  how 
ever,  encourage  the  hope  that  a  conference  on  the  history  of  America 
in  the  broad  sense  may  become  a  permanent  feature  of  the  sessions 
of  the  American  Historical  Association. 

In  his  address  of  introduction  the  chairman  said : 

American  history  does  not  consist  solely  of  the  history  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  history  of  the  United  States  does  not  consist  solely  of  the  history  of  the 
"  Thirteen  Colonies  "  and  of  what  has  proceeded  from  them. 

Effort  is  rarely  made  to  present  the  history  of  the  American  Continents  as  an 
orderly  process  of  development.  The  moment  in  which  the  English  or  the 
Anglo-Americans  arrive  on  the  scene  furnishes  an  excuse  for  ignoring  the 
history  of  all  areas  not  under  their  control.  The  share  of  the  Romance  nations 
in  shaping  the  history  of  America  is  ill  understood  and  less  appreciated. 

In  our  schools  and  colleges,  in  the  textbooks  and  in  the  courses  dealing  with 
"American"  history  the  work  of  the  Spanish,  the  Portuguese,  and  the  French 
is  regularly  treated  as  a  series  of  more  or  less  detached  episodes  possessing  a 
sort  of  picturesque  interest  quite  unimportant  in  character.  What  they  accom 
plished  seems  to  be  regarded  as  something  useful  to  fill  up  a  chronological  void 
before  the  English  established  themselves — a  pretext  for  showing  that  the 
Spanish  and  the  French  settlements  in  this  country  were  allowed  to  exist  only 
because  an  inscrutable  Providence  had  decreed  that  in  the  fullness  of  time  they 
should  come  under  English  rule  and  eventually  form  a  part  of  the  United 
States.  The  tales  of  Spaniards  and  of  Frenchmen  marching,  fighting,  and 
shooting,  wandering  in  the  wilds  of  the  New  World,  now  missionaries,  now 

1  Bulletin  of  the  International  Bureau  of  the  American  Republics,  February,  1910, 
pp.  207-213. 

221 


222  AMEKICAN  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

marauders,  have  diverted  attention  from  the  essential  to  the  incidental,  from 
the  permanent  to  the  transitory,  from  the  instructive  and  the  valuable  to  the 
curious  and  the  quaint  in  their  respective  careers.  Indeed,  the  very  sound  of 
the  name  lends  zest  to  the  obsession,  for  how  could  the  representative  of  a 
Romance  nation  do  anything  that  was  not  romantic,  and  how  could  a  writer 
on  such  a  theme,  presumably,  be  anything  but  a  romancer? 

Just  as  the  history  of  the  "  Thirteen  Colonies,"  so  the  history  of  the  Spanish 
and  the  French  colonies  in4this  country  is  that  of  the  areas  which  they  respec 
tively  occupied,  of  areas  that  were  later  to  become  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Each  is  equally  important  for  its  own  sake.  Not  only  is  the  history  of  each 
of  these  centers  of  colonization  entitled  to  individual  consideration,  but  their 
relations  to  one  another  and  to  the  history  of  the  United  States  in  its  general 
development  need  investigation  and  emphasis.  The  type  of  civilization  planted 
in  this  country  by  the  English,  and  the  influence  that  it  has  since  exerted,  have 
been  described  in  comparatively  minute  detail.  On  the  other  hand,  the  type 
of  civilization  likewise  established  here  by  the  Spanish  and  the  French,  the 
influence  that  it  has  exercised,  and  its  survivals  at  the  present  time  have  been 
comparatively  ignored. 

That  the  history  of  the  Spanish,  the  Portuguese,  and  the  French  in  America 
possesses  an  interest  and  a  significance  of  its  own,  entirely  apart  from  its  rela 
tion  to  the  "Anglo-American  "  element,  is  an  incontestable  fact  which  the  special 
nature  of  the  present  meeting  of  the  American  Historical  Association  affords 
an  excellent  opportunity  to  emphasize. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  activities  of  Spain  and  Portugal  have 
been  perpetuated  in  vast  areas  having  a  population  more  than  two-thirds  that 
of  the  United  States  and  endowed  with  resources  of  incalculable  richness.  No 
field  of  history  is  more  neglected  and  none  is  more  fascinating  and  rewarding 
to  the  student  than  the  history  of  Spanish  and  Portuguese  colonization  in 
America,  of  the  development  of  the  Latin-American  Republics,  and  of  the  prob 
lems  that  have  arisen  out  of  conditions  so  like  and  yet  so  unlike  our  own.  The 
Dominion  of  Canada,  furthermore,  with  an  area  larger  than  that  of  the  United 
States  and  with  resources  to  correspond,  is  a  State  founded  by  France,  and  one 
in  which  the  contribution  of  the  French  to  the  history  of  America  takes  rank 
with  that  of  their  Spanish  and  Portuguese  compeers  in  other  fields  of  action. 

Balance  is  an  element  too  often  lacking  in  the  history  of  America  as  it  is 
written  and  taught  to-day.  The  share  of  the  Spanish,  the  Portuguese,  and  the 
French  in  the  several  processes  of  discovery,  exploration,  colonization,  and 
civilization  should  be  studied  from  the  several  standpoints  of  their  intrinsic 
interest  and  significance,  their  relation  to  the  work  of  the  English  and  of  the 
American  in  the  same  directions,  their  place  in  the  general  development  of  the 
history  of  the  New  World,  and  the  amount  and  accessibility  of  the  materials 
upon  which  their  respective  achievements  rest.  Only  by  so  doing  can  the 
balance  be  restored. 

"  The  Contribution  of  Spain,"  the  first  topic  on  the  program,  was 
discussed  by  Prof.  Rafael  Altamira,  of  the  University  of  Oviedo, 
Spain.  In  substance  Prof.  Altamira  spoke  as  follows : 

To  recognize  the  existence  of  a  fact,  or  of  a  series  of  facts,  to  prove  such 
existence,  to  set  forth  the  how  and  the  why  of  its  or  of  their  being — these 
constitute  the  precise  function  of  the  historian.  The  performance  of  this 
function  must  precede  any  interpretation  of  the  facts,  whether  moral,  juridical, 
economic,  or  otherwise,  and  is  independent  of  it  as  well.  Accordingly  we 
should  keep  historical  investigation  constantly  apart  from  our  opinions  and 


ROMANCE  NATIONS  IN  HISTORY  OF   AMERICA.  223 

our  judgments  regarding  the  desirability  or  the  undesirability,  the  good  or  the 
evil — from  our  point  of  view — of  the  acts  done  by  any  one  man  or  by  a  group 
of  men.  Then  our  investigation  of  the  truth  of  what  was  and  of  what  is,  will 
be  free  from  any  prejudices  on  the  point  of  what  ought  to  have  been. 

To  acknowledge  that  Spain  has  had  a  mighty  share  in  the  civilization  of  the 
western  European  type  established  on  the  Continent  of  America;  that  she  has 
exercised  a  great  and  fundamental  influence  on  its  history;  that  she  has 
mingled  her  blood  and  united  her  ethnic  type  with  those  of  the  aborigines,  cre 
ating  mixed  peoples  and  new  branches  of  the  old  peninsular  trunk ;  that  she 
has  left  a  deep  impress  on  the  language,  the  religion,  the  science,  the  art,  the 
mind  in  general,  of  vast  regions  in  South,  Central,  and  North  America — to 
acknowledge  all  this  is  merely  to  prove  facts,  things  that  have  been  and  are, 
and  that,  whether  good  or  evil,  can  not  be  changed  by  man  to  fit  his  precon 
ceptions  on  the  subject. 

Only  on  the  basis  of  an  exact  and,  so  far  as  possible,  complete  knowledge 
of  the  facts,  such  as  they  were  and  are,  and  from  points  of  view  foreign  to  his 
tory,  may  our  judgment  of  the  facts  be  formed.  Without  this  basis  every  judg 
ment  must  be  precipitate  and  inconsistent.  Proof  thereof  may  be  found  in  the 
corrections  of  the  prejudices  of  former  times  regarding  the  history  of  Spanish 
colonization  in  America,  which  are  constantly  appearing  and  contributing  to  a 
better  knowledge  of  the  facts.  Many  features  of  the  work  of  Spain  in  America 
are  viewed  to-day  in  a  manner  very  distinct  from  that  in  which  they  were 
regarded  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century;  and  we  know  better  now 
those  very  same  facts  to  which  our  judgments  were  applied. 

If  all  this  be  true,  regard  for  the  scientific  precision  and  for  the  sincerity 
incumbent  upon  every  investigator  compels  us  to  admit  that  in  many  of  its 
principal  points  we  know  comparatively  little  about  the  historical  processes 
involved  in  the  Spanish  colonization  of  America ;  and  if  this  circumstance  in 
turn  indicates  a  deficiency  in  our  knowledge  of  the  facts  which  ought  to  act 
as  a  spur  to  further  investigation,  it  reveals  also  the  weakness  and  the  purely 
tentative  character  of  many  of  the  judgments  formed  about  data  supposed  to 
have  been  historically  well  founded. 

In  general,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  historians  of  Spanish  colonization  in 
America,  except  perhaps  those  who  have  treated  concrete  points  of  narrow 
scope,  have  used  but  few  sources  taken  often  at  second  hand,  and  even  then 
not  always  sure  and  impartial.  The  result  is  that  such  historians  have  done 
little  more  than  to  copy  one  another,  and  that  real  investigation  of  original 
sources  has  been  neglected.  Accordingly  we  know  of  Spanish  action  in  America 
only  on  its  external  and  superficial  side.  The  history  of  institutions  of  law,  of 
economic  and  social  life,  of  scientific  and  literary  activity,  as  it  has  been  pre 
sented  to  us,  is  full  of  lacunae,  doubts,  legends,  and  questions  without  answer, 
in  spite  of  the  meritorious  essays  or  researches  of  many  who  have  dealt  with 
those  themes.  The  principal  causes  of  this  state  of  affairs  are  (1)  as  a  rule, 
the  authors  of  the  history  of  colonial  Spanish  America  have  attended  only  to 
the  external  political  events  and  have  not  lent  attention  to  the  Kulturgeschichte 
and  to  the  history  of  institutions;  (2)  there  are  millions  of  documents  in  the 
archives  of  Spain,  such  as  those  in  the  archives  of  the  Indies  at  Seville,  in 
Simancas,  and  elsewhere,  which  are  little  known  and  less  used.  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  the  immediate  duty  of  those  interested  in  the  matter  is  to  have 
calendared,  and  if  possible  to  have  copied  and  published,  the  documents  in 
question.  For  that  purpose  there  seems  to  be  nothing  more  practical  than  the 
foundation  in  Spain  (particularly  in  Seville)  by  the  Governments  or  the  uni 
versities  of  the  several  nations  concerned,  or  by  groups  of  learned  men  inter 
ested  in  the  colonial  history  of  Spain  in  America,  of  historical  institutes  aim- 


224  AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

ilar  to  the  schools  established  at  Rome  and  elsewhere  for  the  promotion  of 
classical  studies. 

The  practical  result  of  all  the  foregoing  is  that  we  who  devote  ourselves  to 
history  ought  to  apply  our  energies  to  investigating,  clarifying,  and  broadening 
its  field  of  work — the  fi&d  of  facts — laboring  in  an  objective  sense,  absolutely 
disinterested,  inclined  to  accept  and  to  proclaim  the  truth,  whether  or  not  it 
wound  our  prejudices  or  our  preferences,  or  even  our  national  sentiments.  To 
do  anything  else  would  be  to  sacrifice  beforehand  a  reality,  as  yet  but  little 
known,  to  a  preconceived  idea  or  to  a  passion  which,  however  noble  it  might 
be,  would  only  obscure  the  truth. 

"  The  Contribution  of  Portugal "  was  then  outlined  by  Dr.  Hiram 
Bingham,  of  Yale  University.  He  said : 

The  chief  interest  and  significance  of  Portuguese  history  lies  in  the  extraor 
dinary  achievement  which  one  of  the  smallest  countries  in  Europe  was  able  to 
make  during  its  golden  age.  It  deserves  attention  as  a  striking  instance  of 
what  a  nation  can  accomplish  as  long  as  it  believes  in  its  invincibility.  Acting 
on  this  belief,  Portugal,  within  a  single  century,  produced  discoverers,  explorers, 
and  navigators  of  the  very  first  rank,  acquired  a  world-wide  empire,  developed 
the  arts  and  sciences  to  an  astonishing  degree,  and  to  crown  all,  brought  into 
being  one  of  the  most  supremely  gifted  poets  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

Her  method  of  colonizing  Brazil  anticipates  in  a  striking  manner  the  excellent 
work  of  the  English  in  the  same  direction  a  century  later.  Her  colonists  were 
industrious,  frugal  cultivators  of  the  soil,  and  she  allowed  them  in  considerable 
measure  the  necessary  liberty  to  take  root  and  develop  in  new  and  strange  sur 
roundings. 

A  comparative  study  of  her  dependencies  in  Asia  and  America  furnishes  a 
brilliant  example  of  the  truth  that  possessions,  won  and  held  by  force  of  arms, 
are  only  of  fictitious  advantage  and  transient  value,  while  colonies,  the  pros 
perity  of  which  rests  on  stout  hearts  and  industrious  hands,  are  of  lasting 
benefit  to  the  mother  country — a  lesson  that  is  especially  significant  for  Ameri 
cans  to-day. 

Portugal  contributed  to  the  development  of  the  New  World  a  fine  quality  of 
personal  character  in  the  men  whom  she  sent  to  Brazil.  The  life  of  the  late 
Emperor,  Dom  Pedro  II,  is  not  one  of  the  least  of  Portugal's  contributions  to 
American  civilization.  Few  rulers  have  been  more  highly  educated  and  tal 
ented,  more  scientific  in  thought  and  achievement,  and  more  sincerely  desirous 
of  serving  the  best  interests  of  their  subjects. 

The  most  striking  difference  between  the  history  of  Portuguese  America  and 
that  of  Spanish  America  is  that  apparent  when  the  former  achieved  its  inde 
pendence.  Instead  of  resolving  itself  into  a  series  of  republics  ill-prepared  for 
a  stable  existence,  it  wisely  made  use  of  a  constitutional  monarchy  to  bridge 
over  the  abrupt  transition  from  an  autocratic  to  a  republican  regime.  Accord 
ingly  it  was  able  to  become  a  single  great  nation  and  to  maintain  a  strong  feder 
ation  of  States;  furnishing  in  this  respect  another  striking  resemblance  to  the 
history  of  the  English  colonies. 

We  owe  it  to  ourselves  to  spend  more  time  in  the  study  of  Portuguese  and 
Brazilian  history,  of  a  race  that  has  given  its  languge,  customs,  and  laws  to 
half  a  continent,  of  a  country  possessing  an  area  greater  than  that  of  the  United 
States,  a  population  more  than  half  as  large  as  that  of  France,  and  a  vast  wealth 
in  the  raw  materials  upon  which  so  many  of  our  manufacturing  industries  de 
pend.  There  is  a  splendid  opportunity  for  historical  writers  in  this  field.  The 
materials  are  abundant  and  easily  accessible.  The  subject  is  full  of  charm  and 
romantic  interest,  and  great  practical  value. 


ROMANCE   NATIONS   IN   HISTORY   OF   AMERICA.  225 

Dr.  Reuben  Gold  Thwaites,  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Wis 
consin,  prefaced  his  treatment  of  "  The  Contribution  of  France  "  with 
a  description  in  outline  of  the  racial,  political,  and  social  contrasts 
between  the  French  inhabitants  of  Canada  and  the  Louisiana  country 
and  the  English  colonists  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  He  then  pro 
ceeded  substantially  as  follows: 

The  story  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  French  power  in  America  is  one  of  the 
greatest  epics  in  the  records  of  mankind,  and  one  in  which  the  dramatic  unities 
are  revealed  in  all  their  essential  truth.  The  historian  of  the  United  States 
in  particular  ought  to  give  it  more  consideration  by  far  than  that  which  it  has 
received.  He  who  would  trace  the  development  of  the  very  heart  of  this 
country  must  regard  the  colonial  regime  of  France  as  the  opening  chapter  of  his 
narrative,  to  which  the  wanderings  of  the  Spaniard  a  century  earlier  furnish 
a  prelude. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  contribution  made  by  New  France  to  the  history  of 
North  America  was  the  achievements  of  its  explorers.  Before  the  British 
conquest  in  1763  the  French  were  familiar  with  the  region  of  Canada  from  the 
St.  Lawrence  to  the  Saskatchewan,  and  with  that  of  the  United  States  from  the 
Alleghenies  to  the  Rockies. 

Many  of  our  modern  towns  were  once  the  fur-trading  posts  of  the  Frenchman, 
and  our  map  is  studded  with  hundreds  of  French  geographical  names.  The 
French,  indeed,  practically  taught  us  the  fur  trade  and  their  men,  as  well  as 
their  methods,  were  used  by  Americans  down  to  our  own  time. 

Apart  altogether  from  their  devoted  labors  in  behalf  of  Christianity  and 
civilization,  like  their  fellow  workers,  the  Spanish  ecclesiastics  to  the  southward, 
the  French  missionaries  rendered  valuable  service  in  the  cause  of  ethnology. 
They  studied  the  Indian  languages  and  characteristics  with  a  minuteness  of 
observation  which  has  made  their  reports  and  treatises  indispensable  to  the 
specialist  in  this  branch  of  science. 

The  French  of  Quebec  and  the  maritime  provinces,  the  Creoles  in  the  Missis 
sippi  Valley,  the  Huguenots  among  the  settlers  peopling  the  Atlantic  coast  have 
had  a  large  influence  on  our  history  and  are  still  a  dominant  force.  Their 
sturdy,  simple  life,  their  frugal  habits,  their  domestic  graces  and  virtues,  their 
cultivation  of  music  and  the  arts  that  foster  the  innocent  enjoyment  of  life 
have  all  had  a  distinct  share  in  the  molding  of  the  national  spirit  and  character 
throughout  the  major  part  of  the  North  American  Continent. 

But  the  most  grateful  and  pleasing  of  the  various  elements  that  France  has 
contributed  to  the  history  of  America  is  the  dash  of  strong  and  lasting  color, 
of  irresistible  romance  imparted  by  those  who  lived  under  the  French  regime. 
It  provides  the  fascinating  exploits  and  achievements  of  explorers,  like  Cham- 
plain,  Radisson,  Marquette,  La  Salle,  and  Verendrye;  of  fur  traders  and  com 
mandants  like  Duluth,  Perrot,  and  Le  Sueur;  of  state  builders  like  Frontenac 
and  Iberville;  of  soldiers  like  Montcalm.  Above  all  it  illumines  with  rare 
charm  the  humbler  deeds  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  of  men  who  furnished 
some  of  the  most  brilliant  examples  on  record  of  heroic  and  self-sacrificing 
devotion  to  an  exalted  purpose.  The  history  of  America,  indeed,  would  lose 
much  of  its  welcome  color,  of  its  warmth  of  tone  and  sentiment  were  the  memo 
ries  of  the  French  to  be  blotted  from  its  stirring  pages. 

At  the  outset  of  his  address  on  "  The  Contribution  of  the  Latin- 
American  Republics,"  Mr.  Francisco  J.  Yanes,  of  the  International 

73885°— 11 15 


226  AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

Bureau  of  the  American  Kepublics,  alluded  humorously  to  the  task 
incumbent  upon  him  of  condensing  into  the  period  of  20  minutes  the 
history  of  20  States  since  the  attainment  of  their  independence — a 
performance  which  at  the  rate  of  one  State  a  minute  seemed  rather 
out  of  proportion  to  the  size  of  some  of  the  nations  and  to  the  achieve 
ments  of  others.  Since  the  preceding  speakers  had  indicated  the 
extent  to  which  the  Spaniards,  the  Portuguese,  and  the  French  had 
left  their  imprint  on  the  civilization  of  Latin- America,  Mr.  Yanes 
described  in  a  general  way  what  had  been  done  with  the  trust  that  the 
forefathers  had  left  and  how  far  the  Latin- Americans  had  succeeded 
in  their  efforts  to  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  the  world. 

The  Spanish- American  Republics,  in  particular,  began  their  inde 
pendent  career  under  many  disadvantages.  Among  them  may  be 
mentioned  the  economic  depression  following  in  the  wake  of  nearly 
20  years  of  war;  the  lack  of  political  experience  due  to  a  colonial 
tutelage  of  centuries ;  and  the  possession  of  a  vast  amount  of  territory 
without  a  population  of  corresponding  size,  a  social  organization  of 
sufficient  solidarity,  or  a  supply  of  pecuniary  means  to  develop  its 
wonderful  resources  in  the  face  of  appalling  topographical  and 
climatic  difficulties.  These  obstacles  could  not  be  overcome  without 
provoking  struggles  to  secure  and  maintain  stability. 

Of  late  years  revolutions  in  Latin  America  have  become  rare 
occurrences.  For  them  order  and  progress  have  been  substituted 
to  a  gratifying  degree.  As  European  capital  and  European  im 
migration,  of  which  they  stand  in  much  need,  enter  the  countries  of 
Latin  America  the  influences  thus  brought  to  bear  will  have  the  same 
beneficial  effect  upon  them  as  such  influences  have  had  upon  the 
national  growth  of  the  United  States. 

While  the  charge,  so  often  made,  that  Latin  Americans  are  a  race 
of  polite  idlers  may  have  some  measure  of  truth  when  viewed  from 
a  purely  material  standpoint,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  they 
inherited  from  their  colonial  ancestors  a  love  of  the  beautiful,  a 
vividness  of  imagination,  a  facility  of  expression,  and  a  variability 
of  temperament  as  well,  which  must  ever  remain  essential  char 
acteristics  along  with  all  their  other  vices  and  virtues.  They  can  not 
sow  a  dollar  and  reap  two  in  a  manner  so  successful  as  that  attending 
the  efforts  of  their  more  commercially  disposed  brethren  elsewhere 
in  the  world.  On  the  other  hand,  they  do  possess  an  appreciation 
of  those  products  of  the  heart  and  the  mind  which  stand  as  evidences 
of  culture. 

To-day  in  all  the  Republics  of  Latin  America  there  are  institu 
tions  of  learning  worthy  of  the  respect  of  older  nations.  From  these 
institutions  are  coming  forth  men  of  a  high  order  of  intellectual 
attainment,  well  equipped  for  their  several  vocations.  Illiteracy, 
also,  is  rapidly  disappearing. 


ROMANCE   NATIONS   IN   HISTORY   OF    AMERICA.  227 

Given  the  adverse  conditions  against  which  they  have  had  to 
struggle,  the  States  of  Latin  America  possess  the  comforts  and  con 
veniences,  as  well  as  the  refinements,  of  civilization  to  an  amount  and 
degree  surprising  to  those  who  share  common  prejudices  based  on 
misinformation.  Their  trade  alone  exceeds  in  value  two  billions  of 
dollars  a  year.  They  are  fostering  education,  taking  heed  of  the 
unfortunate,  encouraging  science,  literature,  and  the  fine  arts  so 
earnestly  and  so  thoroughly  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when 
their  contribution  to  the  development  of  the  New  World  will  receive 
its  just  meed  of  recognition. 

Responding  to  the  invitation  of  the  chairman  for  expressions  of 
opinion  on  the  subject  of  the  conference,  Prof.  Edward  Luther 
Stevenson,  of  Rutgers  College,  emphasized  the  need  of  special  study 
of  the  early  cartography  of  America  as  a  means  of  removing  many 
of  the  prevailing  misapprehensions  in  regard  to  the  processes  of 
colonization  followed  by  the  Romance  nations.  Prof.  George  Pierce 
Garrison,  of  the  University  of  Texas,  pointed  out  how  greatly  the 
history  of  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  United  States,  first  settled 
by  the  Spaniards,  had  suffered  from  neglect  and  how  rich  the  mate 
rials  awaiting  the  investigator  are.  Mr.  Alberto  Nin  Frias,  the 
former  secretary  of  the  legation  of  Uruguay,  in  closing,  reviewed  the 
progress  of  the  spirit  of  understanding  and  cooperation  among  the  21 
Republics,  which  is  converting  Pan  Americanism  from  a  pious  wish 
into  a  practical  program  of  international  friendship  and  solidarity. 


Kir 


19! 
4, 


Makers 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
PAT.  JAN.  21 , 1908 


m 


:: 


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